KUTZTOWN, PA. (February 3, 2010) – The Kutztown University women's basketball team started slow and finished fast in pulling off a rally to remember to defeat Cheyney University, 63-61, in a spirited Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division game Wednesday night at Keystone Arena. (Boxscore)
Kutztown, ranked 10th in the latest NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional rankings, improved its record to 14-6 overall and 5-2 in the PSAC East. Cheyney's record slipped to 6-13 and 3-4. Fans can watch the replay of the game on Thursday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. on KUTV.
Leading the Kutztown rally was junior forward Melissa McQuade, who scored 19 of her game-high 25 points in the second half as Kutztown overcame a 16-point first half deficit to remain in second place. During the comeback, McQuade became the 12th player in KU women's basketball history to score 1,000 points. She reached the magic milestone when she made a short jumper with four minutes, 51 seconds remaining. McQuade, who also grabbed 13 rebounds, upped her career point total to 1,007 points.
Junior guard Meredith Starr provided the winning margin when she swished two foul shots with 21 seconds remaining. Starr finished with 13 points, the only other KU player in double digits. Cheyney was unable to get a quality shot to tie the game and the ensuing rebound fell into the hands of senior Rachel Wisemiller.
“Once we got into the locker room, I thanked all of my teammates because they were the ones responsible for helping me reach 1,000 points,” McQuade said. “I never focused on scoring 1,000 points. If it came, it came. It's nice to know that all of the hard work that I put into the game as a player paid off. But the important thing is that we were able to win the game.”
However, since KU trailed, 55-48, when public address announcer John Gump informed the crowd, McQuade or her teammates had little time to savor the accomplishment.
“We wished we could've cheered with the rest of the crowd when the announcement was made during a timeout, but coach was kind of mad at us at the time,” Starr said. “I am glad she reached the 1,000-point mark tonight because we needed every one of her points.”
McQuade refused to let Kutztown lose. Her face resembled the huge gold growling bear at center court as McQuade's intensity picked up. She fought for loose balls, drove to the basket with reckless abandon, and inspired her teammates with determination and inspiration. McQuade gave the Golden Bears their first lead of the game, 61-60, when she made a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 62 seconds remaining.
Cheyney tied the game for the final time when Ayasha Lake split a pair of foul shots with 30 seconds remaining. That set the stage for Starr to sink a pair of free throws after being fouled in the backcourt with 21 seconds remaining.
“I think the key for us was we never lost our composure,” Starr said. “We started off rough but we believed in each other and continued working hard as a team to get ourselves in position to win it at the end.”
Still trailing, 55-45, with 7:03 remaining, Kutztown began its winning rally behind McQuade and Starr. The two best friends combined to score the Golden Bears' remaining 18 points. McQuade began the run with five quick points. After Cheyney went ahead, 57-50, Starr made a huge 3-pointer with 2:43 remaining that pulled the Golden Bears within, 57-53. McQuade resumed her personal scoring binge, tallying KU's next eight points.
“Meredith came through with some big foul shots at the end,” McQuade said. “We were able to get stops and I think Meredith's 3-pointer really gave us a lot of momentum.”
The Lady Wolves charged out of the gate like bulls at the start. Cheyney scored the first eight points of the game. The Lady Wolves advantage eventually swelled to 17-2 five minutes into the game and peaked at 22-6 with 12:44 remaining in the first half.
Starr helped Kutztown close to within, 26-21, with 5:57 remaining in the first half. However, Cheyney withstood that flurry to carry a 34-25 advantage into intermission. The Lady Wolves pushed their bulge to 43-29 with 16:41 remaining.
Stephanie Orji had an outstanding game for Cheyney, finishing with 14 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots. Lutfiyya Muhammed scored a team-high 15 points. Angel Stephens also had a double-double for Cheyney with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Kutztown returns to action Saturday afternoon when it visits East Stroudsburg beginning at 1:00 p.m.
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